Checkmate
by HarajukuOtaku
Summary: Bolin is outraged at his brother's denseness. OUT-RAGED. He decides that tough love is the way to go. Rated T for implied swearing. Includes Dense!Mako, Makorra-Shipping!Bolin and lots and lots of Mako's traitorous inner voice.


**A.N: Hahaha, I seem to do these in pairs, don't I? I'm very thankful for everyone who reviewed and favorited and alerted…*tearbends* I love you all!**

**Takes place after episode 3. Written because this archive needs more Makorra-Shipping!Bolin. He's adorable.**

**I own nothing. Not even the milk I am currently sipping (it is delicious, though).**

"Bolin? I'm home!" Mako sunk down on the couch, exhausted. Bending—especially lightning—all day really took it out of him. Thank goodness that the manager was a pro-bending fan and gave him the day before matches off, or else he'd be too exhausted to fight in the arena.

_The arena. Fighting. Pro-Bending. Korra._

_ No, self, stop doing that._

"Welcome home," Bolin walked into the main room, stretching. "I just got back up from the gym—Korra wanted to spar." He flopped down next to his brother, groaning. "She has too much energy. I couldn't keep up after the first hour."

Mako chuckled, then paused, looking over at his brother. "You spend a lot of time with the Avatar."

"You spend a lot of time avoiding calling her by her name," Bolin pointed out. "Unless you're both in danger, it's 'Avatar Korra' or just 'Avatar'."

He rolled his eyes, ignoring the uncomfortable kick in his stomach whenever _she_ came up in conversation—or in his thoughts, or into the gym, or—_stop that, Mako_. "That's not the point. Do you…like her?"

There was an uncomfortable silence for what felt like an _eternity_, and then Bolin cleared his throat. "You know I love you, right, bro?"

"Yeah…" Mako said uncertainly, wondering where exactly Bolin was taking this. _Are they already together? Have they been dating since day 1 and I never noticed? Is she preg—stop that!_ He mentally slapped himself.

"Good." Bolin was silent for a moment, and then his fist came down—hard—on Mako's head.

"Ow! What the—"

"YOU IDIOT!" Bolin stood up, pointing an accusatory finger at the bruised firebender, his green eye twitching. "I DIDN'T KNOW THEY _MADE_ PEOPLE THIS STUPID! THIS LEVEL OF STUPIDITY IS BEYOND ANYTHING I'VE EVER _SEEN_!"

"…I still have no idea what you're talking about, funnily enough," Mako rubbed his head. "All I did was ask—"

But Bolin would not be interrupted in the middle of his tirade, "Days—nay, WEEKS of therapy—I think I'm actually starting to produce _estrogen_—cooped up with someone who shoots _fireballs_ when she's upset, and you're asking me if _I like her_?"

"Is…is that an emphatic 'yes'?" The still bemused Mako asked.

Bolin raised his fist again, and then pushed it down with his other arm, obviously fighting for control. "That would be an emphatic 'not on your life' mixed with a bit of a 'close, but no cigar'."

"Now I'm lost."

"Of course you're lost, because you happen to be the densest person in the entire city." Bolin's eye was still twitching, but he seemed to have regained a little bit of his control. "I bet you can't even recognize it on _your_ end, let _alone_ on _her's_…" he sighed, raking his fingers through his hair. "Why me? Why am I the one stuck between the two stupidest people in the known world? I mean, she realized it like three days ago, but you're supposed to be the _smart one!_"

Bolin's efforts were met with a face that looked like a drowning man, desperately looking for something to cling on to.

He groaned. "Alright, let's see if I can do this a different way." He sat up, turning towards the utterly-at-sea Mako. "What do you think of Korra?"

"I don't see—"

"_Answer. The. Question._"

"Umm…" Mako thought for a minute. _She's a good fighter, and she moves well, and her eyes—stop. Now. _"She's a good team member—now, at least," he said, carefully filtering his thoughts. "She picks up new techniques quickly. And she's usually not late to—"

Bolin's eye twitched again. "I didn't ask for a teacher's report. I asked what _you think._"

"She's…nice? Sometimes?"

"Great." Bolin smacked his forehead. "You know, her answer was much funnier—I think she started swearing within twenty seconds, and didn't let up until—let's just say it was the most educational day I'd had in a long time."

Mako felt something in his stomach sink, and shook his head. _Stupid. Why should you care?_

"Ah-HA!" Bolin jumped up, grinning in triumph. "You just shook your head. That's the Mako-gesture for disappointment! I was _riiiight,_ I was _riiiight…_"

"…are you _happy_-_dancing_?"

Bolin stopped, coughing in embarrassment. "I'm not the point here. _That _was."

"What was?" _Face impassive. Voice controlled._

"You care what she thinks. You don't care what _anyone_ thinks, usually. You look around for her at practice—even when you know you're early. AND, and this is my final proof, you ask about her all the time, even if you don't say her name."

Feeling decidedly uncomfortable, Mako put all of his energy into scoffing. "And your point is?  
"You like Korra." Bolin sat down, grinning at the confidence draining out of his brother's face. "Checkmate."

"Are you guys playing chess?" A female voice rang out from the stairway at the bottom of the room, and Mako promptly fell off the couch, swearing. "Whoops, didn't mean to scare you or anything."

"Korra!" Bolin's smug smile was the _scariest flipping thing_ Mako'd ever seen. "What're you doing here?"

"Dropping by the gear you left downstairs," came the reply. "Why is Mako on the floor?"

"It looked comfortable." Mako groaned, determined not to look at the girl standing in front of him, her brown hair falling like waves of water—

He groaned again. _Either I've lost it completely, or Bolin has poisoned my brain._

**A.N: Ta-daa! Like it? Hate it? Review, please! I love reviews.**


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